2 Killed, 1 Hurt in Placentia, Santa Ana Shootings

A 15-year-old Placentia boy was killed when two youths on bicycles opened fire on a parked car in which he was sitting, and police later arrested and booked two juveniles on charges of homicide, officials said.

The Placentia slaying was one of three separate shooting incidents Friday, including what police believe to be a fatal game of Russian roulette in Santa Ana that claimed the life of a man. Another Santa Ana shooting resulted in critical wounds to a man.

The Placentia shooting occurred about 3 p.m. Witnesses in the 800 block of Tafolla Street reported to police that they saw two juveniles on bicycles shoot into a white sedan, hitting one of four boys inside, said Matt Reynolds, a Placentia police spokesman.

The car’s driver sped back to the victim’s home near La Jolla Street and Arnold Drive, where he died, Reynolds said.

Alex Segovia, 64, the father of the dead boy, identified him as Jason Segovia, a sophomore at Horizon High School, an alternative studies program run by the county’s education department. Alex Segovia said his son had left the house about 10:30 a.m. and said he was going to see some friends down the street.

“That was it,” the father said. “The next time I saw him was when he was just lying there on the ground,” where paramedics had moved him as they fought to save his life.

On Friday afternoon, a throng of relatives, friends and neighbors gathered in the frontyard of Segovia’s house, many with tears streaming down their cheeks as they watched officers questioning the dead boy’s companions.

One suspect was promptly arrested nearby, and dogs were used to help search for the second suspect, who was found and arrested in the 200 block of East Chapman Avenue in Placentia.

Police said they would not release the identities of the arrested youths because they are juveniles, ages 15 and 16.

Earlier in the day in Santa Ana, a police officer was flagged down by a resident who said a man had shot himself in the 300 block of Saint Gertrude Place. Upon arrival about 1 p.m., the officer saw Marin Gabriel Lino, 22, sitting on a living room couch and bleeding from his head, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Ken Gominsky said. His right hand was still holding a revolver, which was on his lap, and there was a gunshot wound to the right side of his head, Gominsky said.

There was one expended cartridge in the cylinder, and the spent bullet was found on the floor, Gominsky said.

“Investigators believe he was playing Russian roulette with the weapon, because there was only one round placed in the gun,” Gominsky said.

Lino, who did not live in the house, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he died during surgery about three hours later. Three friends were in the same house but didn’t witness the shooting. They were questioned and released.

“They said he didn’t appear depressed and even had planned to go out,” Gominsky said.

Later, about two miles away, police were called to the 300 block of West Bishop Street. They arrived about 3:30 p.m. and found a 24-year-old man lying in the middle of the road, suffering from a gunshot wound. He apparently had been involved in an argument with a group of people, one of whom pulled out a gun and shot him, Gominsky said.

The man, whose name was not released, was in critical condition Friday night at Western Medical Center, police said. Investigators believe the shooting was gang-related, Gominsky said.